Former Global BC reporter Ron Bencze has entered a guilty plea.Bencze has pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault related to the sexual abuse of a minor.Crown is asking for a prison term of two to three years for Bencze.Details of the case can not be revealed, due to a publication ban to protect the victims' indentity.The crown says the abuse lasted for seven and a half years.A sentencing hearing is underway.Bencze is facing ten other related charges of the alledged abuse of three minors.He originally pleaded not guilty to all of those charges.

Global posted the following on their web site:0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Former Global TV reporter pleads guilty to sexual assaults

Former Global TV reporter Ron Bencze has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting one of his son’s friends.

Bencze, 45, appeared Thursday morning in B.C. Provincial Court in Surrey. The assaults took place between March 15, 2003 and Dec. 31, 2010.

The victim’s mother went to police last January after finding sexual text messages from Bencze — using his work phone — on her 14-year-old son’s cellphone.

Bencze’s relationship with the boy began when the victim was around eight to 10 years old and the abuse included masturbation and oral sex.

The contact often occurred during sleepovers.

The victim’s mother was in tears as the assaults were described for the judge.

Crown prosecutor Jennifer Lopes is seeking a custodial sentence of two to three years.

A victim-impact statement from the victim, who is now 16 years old and cannot be identified because of a publication ban, said he felt confused by Bencze’s advances.

“I am relieved that it has stopped,” he wrote.

He said the assaults have had an emotional impact — he often feels frustrated.

“I feel that I have missed out on a childhood that was meant for me, not the tainted one I have experienced,” he said.

The teen’s mother wrote in her statement that she and her husband feel guilty they didn’t know what was happening.

“[My son] has lost his innocence,” she wrote. “This has been devastating to us.”

She said the Bencze family has tried to discredit her son in the community, causing her family to become socially withdrawn.

“It did happen and it isn’t a lie,” she said.

Bencze was initially charged with three counts of sexual assault, four counts of sexual interference and two counts of invitation to sexual touching involving three people under the age of 16. He also faces a charge of breaching his bail conditions.

Last April it was announced that Bencze no longer works for Global. He had been employed by the station since 2004. He was also suspended from volunteering as an assistant soccer coach at a Surrey club.

Not excusing this guy and what he did though I gotta wonder about the double standard we are seeing right now over Senator Rod Zimmer. You know, the guy with the wife who made all the fuss on the airplane.

The media appears to be pulling all references to the Z man being guilty of the same crime as Bencze. Earlier reports made mention of him waiting until she was 21 to marry his live-in girlfriend after living together for "many years". More then three is the obvious reference which makes Z guilty of having sex with a minor. More than once.

slowhand wrote:Not excusing this guy and what he did though I gotta wonder about the double standard we are seeing right now over Senator Rod Zimmer. You know, the guy with the wife who made all the fuss on the airplane.

The media appears to be pulling all references to the Z man being guilty of the same crime as Bencze. Earlier reports made mention of him waiting until she was 21 to marry his live-in girlfriend after living together for "many years". More then three is the obvious reference which makes Z guilty of having sex with a minor. More than once.

And you're bringing it up here. There is NO comparison.

As someone who worked with Ron for years, I am still shocked and stunned by the allegations and plea. That's all I will have to say on the subject, except this:Please slowhand, quit posting just for the sake of posting and trying to tie something ENTIRELY different to the topic at hand. You have no idea what 'many years' is - according to "reports". You're posting B.S.

My point still remains the same. The media is all over this Bencze guy but a major newspaper web site pulled their story this morning on a reprobate old Senator that implied he was living with a minor before he finally married her. That is a double standard in reporting if I ever heard of one.

And what has your having worked with the guy got to do with any of this? He pled guilty. What more do you want? A phone call from him explaining it?

slowhand wrote:Not excusing this guy and what he did though I gotta wonder about the double standard we are seeing right now over Senator Rod Zimmer. You know, the guy with the wife who made all the fuss on the airplane.

The media appears to be pulling all references to the Z man being guilty of the same crime as Bencze. Earlier reports made mention of him waiting until she was 21 to marry his live-in girlfriend after living together for "many years". More then three is the obvious reference which makes Z guilty of having sex with a minor. More than once.

... good post! bencze got totally screwed ...

... the whole thing stinks of a cover-up. we were told by the crown that bencze agreed to plead guilty to the charges, but i find it hard to believe anyone would agree to four years in jail without a trial. further, other than the questionable testimony of the supposed child victim, there is no way of PROVING that bencze actually violated any laws. he should have been acquitted ...

... the canadian government's preoccupation with sex is positively perverse ...

... i believe bencze was denied the option of a trial because a proper trial, which would include a publicly disclosed cross-examination of the supposed victim, would have destroyed the crown's case against him ...

No man (or women) is refused a trial. Everyone who is charged has a choice.

1. find a way of getting diverted out of the court into supervised probation (yes there is a CCC section)2. plead guilty3. plead not guilty4. select trial by jury5. select trial by judge

In cases like this a person might say that pleading guilty will result in quick justice and the sentence might be over (sooner) than if you elect a trial and have to wait several years before it is tried. It is also way less embarrassing than having your family go through this with you.

A trial was not denied. He made that decision with input from his lawyer and his family. I think it was a good act that saved a lot of angst and court time. You go to trial if you are innocent or a lawyer says you have a good chance of being acquitted.

Good on you Ron. I hope time in reflecting and the courses you will take are beneficial.